at the end we honor the results and shake hands. what happens this year, the making of an american president is a pretty wonderful thing. >> john: that is our show for tonight. i'm john stossel. thanks for watching. >> gregg: we begin with a fox news alert. former long time u.s. senator arlen specter has died. he was a major political figure in his home state as pennsylvania. his career spanning more than 40 years and two political parties. dying from complications of non-hodgkin's lymphoma at the age of 82. peter doocy looks back at his contributions to his country. >> reporter: we just heard from president obama. he released a statement that says, arlen specter was always a fighter stamping out corruption as a prosecutor in philadelphia to three decades of service in

the senate. he was fiercely independent. never putting partying party or ideology ahead of who was made to serve. he served witness integrity for three decades. laura and i appreciate his contributions to america and grateful for many years of public service. we send our condolences to his wife, joan and the specter family. they tell us the long time senator died at 1139 this morning from complications of non-hodgkin's limb foam 35. service will be in pennsylvania. he served as a democrat and then a republican and then a democrat in the united states senate. was part of 13 supreme court confirmation hearings. he crossed party lines during the robert bork hearing voting against him which was seen as an important factor in that failed nomination. >> for me it was a very hard

decision to disagree with my colleagues on the republican side on this committee, to disagree with my president and my party and to indicate a vote against a man who i am come to know and liked and respect. >> reporter: long before he became pennsylvania's longest serving senator he was the assistant district attorney and washed on the warren commission that was investigating j.f.k.'s assassination. he is one of men that came up with a single bullet theory that one bullet hit both kennedy and connolly. his career was i husband treeous and he is being mourned today. >> gregg: peter doocy, thanks very much. mounting pressure as we

approach the final 48 hours before the next presidential debate. president obama, governor mitt romney in very intense debate prep right now before their second face off on tuesday night. welcome to america's election headquarters. nice to see you. last minute preparations are now underway at the university getting ready for the candidates who take the stage. what are both sides doing. ed henry is live in williamsburg. hi, there ed. the president is hunkering down but got out a little bit today. what are you hearing? >> great to see you. sunday afternoon in america, pieces are being delivered while the n.f.l. is on. it's where the president of the united states delivers the piece. he did that a moment ago. he went to one of his campaign offices right here. virginia is a battleground.

he is able to try to rally the volt here while he is doing debate prep. bigger issue for him is the heavy pressure he is facing right now after what was clearly a flawed debate performance in denver at the first presidential showdown with mitt romney. even the president's own advisors acknowledging the president did not get the job done. did not bring any passion to the table. he is going to get much more aggressive this time around. >> i think you'll see from the president force will, passionate and energetic tone that demonstrates the choice that we have in front of us. obviously the president is going to be respectful and most important thing is to talk to directly to the undecided voters that are asking these questions and give them the answer they deserve on what is most impacting their lives.

>> reporter: the last part about being respectful is significant. even as the president's advisors say she is going to get more aggressive than last time, be more like joe biden. there is a down side to that. there was some negative reaction to the vice president while a lot of the democratic supporters he brought passion and fire to the table. there was criticism he was interrupting and being disrespectful to paul ryan. on this tuesday it's a townhall format. so if you come across being disrespectful, that can backfire. >> heather: mitt romney is preparing for this. what are we hearing from his camp right now? >> he has rob portman the senator from ohio is playing in the debate sessions to get mitt romney ready. they were doing more sessions over the last couple of days together. bottom line they have been campaigning together in ohio even while the president has been mostly down here, hunkered

down getting ready. mitt romney has been out on the stump. his advisors are saying the president may be bringing a different style but they think he has disadvantage in the second debate. >> the president can change his style. he can change his tactics. he can't change his record or policies. that is what this election is about. the fact that $4,300 drop in household incomes has occurred under his watch. >> reporter: now what is interesting, rob portman playing the role of the president on the g.o.p. side here. on the democratic you have john kerry playing mitt romney in the mock sessions pushing obama. i'm told by a campaign official, and candy crowley is going to be moderator. it's about the pressure you mentioned. after this debate on tuesday, there is only one more face to

face showdown. that is at the end of the october. that is why the clock is ticking here to jump out what is essentially a 50/50 race. >> heather: thank you so much. >> gregg: i do want to el you, coming up later in our newscast, campaign insiders will be here and have a look at the state of the race heading into the second crucial presidential debate this weekend. some stung new polls we're going to show you in the swing states. also fox news will bring you all the action from next tuesday's debate. we'll cover it live from the university in new york with full coverage at 8:55 tuesday evening. >> heather: new fallout from the deadly terror attack on the u.s. consulate in libya. the mother of one murdered american is speaking out is raising concerns about security.

grieving mother pat smith says critical questions still remain unanswered about her son, sean's death. >> why did my son die? how did he die. >> sn why weren't there any security people? at this point in time, i'm still under the assumption they told me there were five security people there. where are they? who were they. why didn't they do something? what happened? some of those security people got killed and some did not. >> this the white house response mounting criticism over the handling of that attack. steve is live for us in washington with more. what are we hearing out of the administration? >> critics to fire away at the administration in the wake of the terrorist attack in benghazi. u.s. officials blamed a spontaneous demonstration over an anti-muslim film and that acknowledged there was a

terrorist attack. sean smith was also killed and his mother says she is having a hard time getting any information. >> leon panetta shook his hands and said, trust me, i will tell you the truth. i will get the right information to you. just trust me. when i heard that. i knew i couldn't trust him. i don't trust any of them anymore. they lie. >> critics and defenders of the white house hit the sunday talk shows including some who are suggesting a politically motivated cover-up. >> either they are misleading the american people or incredibly incompetent. there you couldn't believe it was based on a riot that never occurred. to say that, you are very incompetent or misleading. >> we want to get to the bottom of it. first order of business to bring

to justice those that committed this heinous act. secondly, find out what went wrong and what adjustments need to be made to further secure our diplomats around the world. >> reporter: u.s. senate has announced a bipartisan investigation of the attack and administration's response to it. >> heather: thank you so much. a fox news alert to bring you now. landing safely on earth after jumping from the strategy oh sphere and possibly making, strat's sphere. >> he was 24 miles up. it took two and a half hours but the jump lasted 4 minutes and 19 seconds. high winds delayed attempts last week and anticipation had been building around the world. just before jumping a next generation full pressurized suit he expressed concern that his helmet was fogging up and not

heating properly. 43-year-old took a leap from a tiny shelf out by the fiberglass capsule that was carried up by an enormous ultra thin balloon. >> stand up on the exterior step keep your head down. release helmet tie down strap. start the cameras. and our guardian angel will take care of you. >> and it broke three records, highest free fall, fastest free fall and highest man balloon flight. >> you can see him. [ applause ] >> we are, indeed, waiting to see if he broke the speed of

sound. they cheered as his parachute opened. he landed in the eastern new mexico deserted. best known for leaping off skyscrapers. his mother and father were there showing signs of relief. you can only imagine what was going through their minds. it could help with future space exploration, and another way to safely escape should problems arrive. >> heather: what it could mean for our astronauts. thank you so much. >> gregg: i was skeptical that he would make it. he also had on deal with extreme weather through this whole thing in new mexico. they had to postpone the jump earlier this week because of the incredibly high winds there. meteorologist maria molina is watching the weather in the area. you were probably like me. we watched him sitting on the edge of the capsule, there is no way he can survive this.

what an incredible feat. >> i can't take an elevator ride up to the top of the empire state building to think he is making such a huge jump. very brave. we do have very quiet conditions out across new mexico. we saw conditions improve with the weather. the reason why they were so unsettled because the storm system has moved east and bringing some travel issues around the chicago area and other big airports hubs around the area. we do have pretty heavy storms rolling through wisconsin and upper michigan. we can see those storms and even heavy downpours across the chicago area. fortunately as far as severe weather, it is relatively quiet. we haven't had any reports of severe weather for today. there is one severe weather warning in central parts of michigan. keep that in mind. there is a chance we could still see more severe weather in indiana and western parts of

ohio and southern michigan and eastern portions of illinois including the city of chicago with damaging wind gusts being the main concerns. isolated tornadoes can't be ruled out. strong winds, strong wind gusts up to 50 miles an hour in portions of midwest down the through ports of tennessee and western portions of mississippi. the storm will head eastbound. that is where it is eded tomorrow right here to new york city. >> gregg: it was gusty this morning. i almost got blown in mcdonald's. >> i would have had a big mac. [ laughter ] >> heather: u.s. troops are taking part in a special program that is now aimed at mentoring afghan special police. with that recent surge with recent green on blue attacks. they are working with their counter narts afghanistan. colonel oliver north is streaming live.

hello there colonel. what are folks saying about working with the afghans as a result? >> the classic definition of a hero that puts themselves at risk for the benefit of others. we're with a lot of those kinds of people in the third battalion 8 marines. i'm with two of those heroes right now both heavily armed. beside mee is lance corporal, an intelligence specialist. he has been here for six months. you are about to get to go home. you are making people -- but why first did you join the marines? >> to serve my country. >> and? >> to become an officer. >> let's take about your experience in afghanistan. is this part of hellman province you've been in for six months better off or worse since you've been here? >> i would definitely say it is better, sir. since we first got into the

country, there was in the entity stage with the afghan national army. now, we've taken them to first steps. it seems they will be progressing better now. >> is there anybody you would like to say hi to? >> my family members, you support me. thank you. >> she coming home and he is hero. standing beside me is staff sergeant. she has one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. he is an explosive ordnance specialist, ide is most lethal weapon in its arsenal. he finds them but disarms them. he told me his job was to work himself out of a job. in seven months you have been out here, how is it coming? >> i would say it's going pretty well. afghans are taking control as far as patrols, ide calls and everything they come across. >> what does it take to teach

somebody to disarm these things? >> i can't speak on that. i haven't taught anybody. they go through a rigorous program to comprehend and make decisions on the situation. >> your assessment, better on off or worse? >> i would say better off, especially this is my second tour, i thought in 2010 the improvement from then to now is significant. they are doing well. >> anybody home you want to say hi to? >> to my beautiful wife rocks an and my kids. >> they are on their way home and they have done a remarkable job to make a better place than the one they found. >> heather: they sure have. colonel, thank you so much. >> gregg: an interesting economic indicator, you probably don't see every day. you are probably see it, but you don't think about it every day. >> heather: this is an

interesting one. a large trucks on the road could be a good sign for the economy. start with a simple idea. think. drink coffee. design something totally original. do it again. that's good. call in the engineers. call in the car guys. call in the nerds. build arototype. mold it. shape it. love it. give it a starting price under 16 grand. take it to the track. tweak. tweak. tweak. stop. take it to the car shows. call the critics. call the marketing team. get a celebrity endorser. he's perfect. i am? [ male announcer ] yes, you are. making a groundbreaking car -- it's that easy. ♪ it'll cause cavities, bad breath. patients will try and deal with it by drinking water. water will work for a few seconds but if you're not drinking it, it's going to get dry again. i recommend biotene. all the biotene products like the oral rinse...the sprays have enzymes in them. the whole formulation just works very well. it leaves the mouth feeling fresh.

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>> gregg: just outside our studios, lots of kings on the road heading up to central park. if you want to gauge of the u.s. economy, look no further than the streets and highways. numbers of cars and trucks on the road can tell you a whole lot. joining us is brenda buttner, anchor of bulls and bears. this was a pretty interesting piece by a writer at the "washington post". is he right. are trucks and cars a good gauge of the economy? >> if you take a look at the economy there are essentially two sides of the coin, there is demand and supply. if you say cars are on the demand side, people buying what they want, what they need and enjoy. trucks might be the supply side. they are constructed to provide these things, to get them from here to there. it does make a good sense of the economy. it can give a good gauge of how

we are doing. >> no demand, of course, they say there is no supply. so supply and demand right now a little bit out of whack? >> yeah, they should be in whack. that is what a good economy would be, right now they aren't. car sales are very brisk. in fact, light trucks and auto sales, this month highest level of march of 2008. we know at this time of the year there are incentives and people try to move inventory. but on the supply side. big rigs, convoys, there is not. >> they are sitting idle. transported and trucking services are hitting tough times? >> the if you look at j.b. hunt, they had a really bad third quarter. it wasn't just the container side of their business, so-called intermotor side but they had 7 million fewer miles

loaded this quarter. that is a lot less. there are some problems. look at the dow jones transportation average. >> gregg: down 4%. >> compared 5% for the s&p 500. there is a little bit of disconnected here. >> is there uncertainty in the minds of business owners, does that mean, trucking customers therefore are not getting the kind of business they really need with capital expendituress? >> that is real problem. that is across the board for small businesses but you are seeing if the trucking businesses don't do well, then the people that supply them don't do as well either. economy is having problems. alcoa in fact said that trucking was the reason they are downgrading their forecast. that is the beginning of the earning season. that is what wall street looks at how profits are going to be doing in america. this has a real impact. >> gregg: companies making truck

engines are having to fire people? >> that was coming. those down the line, but we'll be watching for those kings of the road. >> gregg: can a buoyant car supply side sort of drive the demand side? >> the thing is -- yes, if people keep buying. how do they keep buying if they are losing jobs. it's so interrelated. the article was very brilliant because it showed the two sides. >> gregg: i'm going to keep my eyes on the road from now on. even when i'm not driving. brenda buttner. catch her on "bulls and bears" every saturday morning right here on the fox news channel. >> heather: you are a little bit of a back-seat driver. >> gregg: that is true. >> heather: some are too young to vote but some are getting high school kids registered to vote. we'll tell you why and how the

program works. that is coming up in the next hour. ♪

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>>. >> gregg: welcome back. time for the top of the news, the stage is being set for next week's second presidential debate at new york university. they are both focusing on their game plans for tuesday night. >> death-defying skydive from the edge of space today, 24 miles above the earth, an extreme daredevil breaking the world's record. we are also waiting to see if he broke the speed of sound. >> colorado community holding a vigil in memory of jessica ridgeway. her body was found earlier this week. police are saying the killer is still on the loose. >> heather: today we are learning that former senator

arlen specter passed away at age 82 after a long battle with cancer. moderate pennsylvania senator worked for colleagues on both sides of the aisle during his 30 career in washington. that is where he led the senate judiciary committee. we joined with joe sestak and assistant to george w. bush. thanks for joining us on this difficult day. always sad to report on this kind of news. brad, let's start with you. as he served in the senate for so many years. you had dealings with him. what do you remember most about him? >> i him as a dedicated public servant, at the time he was district attorney to the time he was special counsel on the warren commission as chairman of the judiciary overseeing confirmations to lifetime appointments to the supreme court. he is somebody that could frustrate his own party but it

pales in comparison how he made his adversaries like he was fighting for something like stem cell research. he was very principled. yes, he was a moderate republican. he was an independent that cost him his job and he switched parties and lost the election. joe can speak more to that. >> heather: he beat him back in the democratic primary. how did you find him as an opponent? >> there was nobody in pennsylvania, nor i don't think there ever will be as a tough fighter as arlen specter. i thought i was hard worker. somebody said to me, joe, this is something, are you enjoying it. i said, well, you know if you define enjoyment that you do all your faculties towards

excellence, yes. he wasn't just a fighter in the campaign but it's what he did the halls of senate to the american people. i take an example for my own family, his fierce advocacy for funding for cancer. when high daughter was struck with brain cancer at the age of four, it was a study that hadn't been completed there that gave her the right chemotherapy, she now she is 11 years old because of arlen specter. there is legacy that he fought for american people and their families. >> heather: it's hard to imagine through all the years he did battle cancer. he showed up to work that he continued to represent the constituents of pennsylvania? >> absolutely he did. i mean he was relentless. but i also think what brad said is so important. he was willing to stand up for what was right when people in america needed it.

that economic stimulus bill. what he did for that knowing it was going to damage his career, but he said it didn't matter. i believe this is what is right. that is what most important. he was so independent willing to do what is right on principle. >> heather: let's talk about this. he didn't back more bork in the supreme court hearings, a lot of republicans were frustrated with that. then he switched positions when it came to clarence thomas. talk a little bit about his independence? >> that goes exactly to his independent streak. he did things that he thought were in the best interests to his constituents in pennsylvania. if it meant bucking the party he will do that. he was one of the giants of the senate. you can mention him as ted kennedy, everett dirksen.

he would compromise when is necessary but on principle he would not budge. that may be the hallmark of arlen specter, through it all his principle led the day. he never would cower to the president or to his colleagues. he believed it was such and true for him and true for america he would fight for it. >> heather: how do you think party switching will be viewed in the long run, the fact that he switched from a democrat to a republican and back to democrat again? >> i think that is going pale to the importance of what he has done. i think brad was spot on. it is what he was able to do to reaching across party lines. he did a principled compromise. my point about it, what i meant he believed it was right. when he was backed into a corner and he felt he had to impact. that is what he did. i think that is how people will view his decision twice to

change parties. he was a pragmatic common sense person. he was in the center of things where today unfortunately both parties have gone to the extreme. it's a great legacy for him. >> heather: we'll have to leave it there. joe sestak and brad blakeman who also knew him. thank you gentlemen. >> gregg: a u.s. college suspending its chief diversity officer after she signed an anti-gay marriage petition. should she be protected by her constitutional rights in and community theater doing its part to end all the bullying that is going on out there. unique way that they are doing it coming up. [ male announcer ] this is sheldo whose long day setting up the news starts with arthritis pain and a choice. take tylenol or take aleve,

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>>. >> gregg: did you hear the story about a university suspending with pay its chief diversity officer. school officials learned she signed a petitioned that challenged maryland maryland same-sex marriage law. was the school correct in suspending her giving given her role as a diversity officer? joining us to talk about it. rachel and fox news analyst. bob massey. >> let me start with you. did the university overreact here and make a mistake so big that it will likely result in a lawsuit against the school? >> i think the university definitely made a mistake, gregg, but whether it's going to result in a lawsuit against the school is going to be determined whether or not they actually let

her go. at that point what the damage has been to her thus far. she has been suspended with pay. she hasn't been terminated. an employer is not allowed to influence or coerce an employee to support or not support a certain political view or have a certain political opinion by threatening their job. d.c. law is very clear on that. >> gregg: we're talking maryland and not d.c. law. all angela mckaskel did, is sign a petitioned along with 200,000 residents encourage ago referendum vote on same-sex marriage. just because you work at a private school, bob, doesn't that mean you don't waive your first amendment rights? >> this is is a tough issue for me. we know that the supreme court, there is a difference between public employees making statements and private employees in this particular situation. i do agree with you.

all she said she wanted to go with the vote. people. can you read into that. does that create the acrimony, somebody who has a title that she has to say even though it's for a referendum, does it create something with a conflict? remember she did not get terminated. she really hasn't been damaged. they did say we are going to look at it and they may reverse it. >> gregg: it may be a private university but gets a lot of federal dollars. the university president, he issued the statement. we'll put it up on the screen. recently came to my attention that the doctor has participated in a legislative initiative that some people sfeem inappropriate, individuals serving as chief diversity officer. others will feel differently. i will use extended time to determine the appropriate next steps. i have to tell you, this should

have been no a no-brainer for the president. a quick call to a lawyer says you can't do that, because every state in maryland have laws preventing private employers to retaliate against employees against their voted and petition signatures? >> there is nothing in all in the 23 year history this has affected her job performance. that is why she is made chief diversity officer. that means acceptance of all opinions. so to say she couldn't have this particular opinion. just like everybody said she didn't say she wants a particular outcome. she says it should go to a vote. >> gregg: i do want to underscore that. she was not taking a stand for or against gay marriage. she signed a petition. maybe she was just asking, hey, let's let voters decide it and

not lawmakers. isn't that a critical difference? >> its major difference. what you said earlier. i'm wondering, do you feel that why i should be asking you question, when i look at this is it egg on the face going to be on university? they get on the phone and is they say, listen. this is what is going on. what is your opinion? what i don't know, did they get an opinion? did they say look, let's look into it. >> gregg: no, she did not at any single time offer an opinion pro or con. >> no. >> let's let voters decide that. >> i didn't mean that. what i mean did the university ever go to in-house counsel and say, listen this is what we found out. they may have said let's put her without pay and i can't imagine

he did that. >> gregg: therein are her damages even though she is getting paid. she is being harmed publicly. love you. i know you disagree. >> gregg: great to see you both. >> thanks. >> heather: three lawyers in a row. ahead of the second presidential debate there is a lot of focus that remains on joe biden and behavior that he used during the debate with paul ryan. here a question that a lot of people are asking. did he show you the kind of values that america wants as a leader. our political panel will weigh in next. [ male announcer ] you've reached the age where you don't back down from a challenge. this is the age of knowing how to make things happen. sowhy let erectile dysfunction get in your way? talk to your doctor about viagra.

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>>. you can cut tax rates bay 20% and still preserve these preferences for taxpayers. >> it is not mathematically possible. >> it is mathematically possible. >> it's never been done before. >> it's been done couple times. jack kennedy lowers tax rates. >> now you are jack kennedy. >> that is one of more mild ones in the debate last tuesday.

some critics are calling biden's performance mocking and bullying. so here is the question we're asking today. are these the qualities that americans want in the next leader? let's bring in our political panel, julie is here fox news contributor and dede is strategist and mary walters a radio talk show host. let's start with you. what kind of influence do you think this will have on the eventually election? >> here is the think. i think biggest influence this guy is one thing by the way from the nuclear code. she laughing about various issues, libya, people dying. it was really weird. it was kind of creepy. this guy jumped on the crazy train and never got it. did it did influence folks knowing this guy could be the president one day. >> heather: what about that?

it's not to take that pointed is seriously when he is laughing talking about iran and country getting a nuclear weapon? >> i think he was laughing at ryan. paul ryan is going to be blood by the likes of joe biden. he will be bullied by mahmoud ahmadinejad, he will be bullied by vladimir putin. instead of saying he got bullied. let's talk about joe biden was staying on the substance really nailed paul ryan on so many issues. the numbers never added up. what he tried to do in congress. if you want to talk about biden's appearance and his laughter. i would talk about the substance of the debate. that is what matters to me. >> a lot of women are paying attention to this. because we like to have a little more harmony in our politics what was chibtd last week. what kind of influence do you think this may have. i know you talk to a lot of voters when you are doing your

radio show. >> a lot of people called in with a quote proverb, when a wise person debates a fool the fool laughs. i think he came across very unstatesman like. he was trying to do what the left does very well which is discredit the messenger instead of addressing the message. i think people are on to that. i really do. you are right. i got more, stronger feelings from the women who they did not like. it looked like it was bullying. >> heather: you can disagree on a policy issue without being nasty about it. you are nodding your head. >> a lot of perfect people didn't catch. he called the moderator honey. honey, sweety, baby, where does it stop.

that is not respectful. >> i didn't appreciate that as a woman. hello, my friend he says to ryan. >> that is what politicians say and do. >> so let's talk about the impact on the november election. is this going to influence voters? >> i don't think people remember the vice presidential debate especially when you have two presidential debates afterwards, i don't think people will remember it. >> he has to re-energize the democratic base after barack obama put in what an abysmal performance two weeks ago. what he did, he did exactly what he needed to do. someone in this administration will go out and fight. >> the laughing and jeers. >> call paul ryan out.

every time paul ryan misled he called him out of that. barack obama did not do that on romney. >> and four minutes, where is my four minutes? >> he laughed at things that should be very serious. >> is he the person as potentially the next president of the united states. >> i would rather have him that whines and cries the fact he was bullied. as i said before if he got bullied by joe biden -- >> paul ryan, there are a lot of supporters for him. he was in difference to joe biden, joe biden, i like what you did. but ask me about. he was very respectful.

>> i think going back to how women when they called in about this, they did mentioned the bullying about this. but the interruptions also, as well. they saw that, paul ryan wasn't given a fair shake and they didn't like that at all. >> heather: thank you, gregg. >> gregg: the women in my house were not big fans of that. there are only women in my house. new questions over the investigation of the u.s. consulate attack in libya that killed four americans including the u.s. ambassador. coming up the mother of one of the victims is accusing the obama administration of hiding the truth. president obama, governor mitt romney gearing up for the second presidential debate tuesday night, but how is the stakes changed since last week's much a talked about vice presidential debate? plus helping children who are too afraid to go to school because of bullying. what every parent needs to hear

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>>heather: welcome to america's election headquarters. >>gregg: topping the news to hour, pre-trial hearings to begin at guantanamo bay for the suspects charged in the 9/11 terror attack. families of 3,000 americans killed are invited to watch.

>>heather: big developments in the investigation into the deadly attack on the consulate in libya weeks ahead of election day. the mother of one murdered american is now speaking out. we will tell you what she has to say. a top republican lawmaker is suggesting the administration may have been involved in misleading the american people. >>gregg: new reaction to the death of senator specter, a look back at his deck-- his career. >> a new fall out over the consulate attack in libya that killed four americans including a u.s. ambassador. a senior republican national convention is now raising the possibility that the obama administration intentionally misled the american people. now live to washington, dc, with that angle of the story. steve, what did the white house say in response? >>reporter: first, the critics suggest that the whole thing was

a coverup with political motivations just weeks before the election. they say a terrorist attack did not fit with the white house story that was talking about al qaeda being defeated and some point to biden's defense of the white house reactions in the debate. the vice president said that the white house didn't know there were requests for additional security in benghazi. >> when vice president said in the debate on wednesday night that we were not told they wanted more security in libya, he directly contradicted the sworn testimony of the regional security director for the state department. >> that testimony was given at a house of representatives hearing on wednesday. >>heather: how are democrats defending the white house? >> they draw a distinction between the state department and the white house and a request being submitted and the white house actually knowing about it.

here is presidential advisor david axelrod. >>guest: the vice president was talking about what the white house knew. there are embassies all over the world and installations all overtime world and the questions go to the state department. it did not come to the white house. that is what the vice president was responding to. >> the senate launch add probe of the attack and the administration's response. >>heather: thank you, steve. >>gregg: the pentagon is investigating a navy submarine crash. it is a missile cruiser, and two crafts collided. the pentagon did not reveal where it happened. the force command said no one was injured. it is unknown how much damage was done. health health we are 48 hours away between the next big debate

between president obama and governor romney. the debate will take place on long island on tuesday. what are the candidates doing now to prepare? ed henry is traveling with the not and is live for us in virginia. what is the president up to today? >>reporter: the weather here is spectacular, very mild for a fall day. the president, we are told, has been walking, clearing his head, with a lot of pressure on him. he went to the campaign headquarters in the local area. virginia is a battleground. he is trying to get-out-the-vote and hand delivered pizza to some of the obama folks here on the ground. despite that calm image, internally we know that they are facing a lot of heat after a performance in the first debate in november that was panned by

republicans and the democrats who think he need to step it up. the senior advisors said on the talk shows they expect a more aggressive president to step up and make his case to voters. >> what we will see from the president is a forceful, passionate, energetic tone that demonstrates the choice we have in front of us. obviously, the president is going to be respectful. the most important thing is to talk directly to the undecided voters asking the questions and give them the answer that they deserve on what is most impacting their lives. >>reporter: the last part about being respectful, and talking to the undecided voters, some of them will be with the president and mitt romney. the format is different from the first, because this will have a

moderator and undecided voters in the room, asking questions. what we saw from vice president biden, that fired up the democrats but angered republicans with interruptions and laughter. that backfire if you do that with undecided voters who think it is too negative. you can see robert gibbs is suggesting they understand there is a balance. >>heather: thank you, ed, traveling with the president. coming up, we will look at the state of the race following the outcome of the vice presidential debate and how that could affect the game plan for both sides ahead of tuesday night. we will bring you all the action from the debate next week live from new york with our full coverage going at 8:55 eastern this tuesday. >>gregg: a couple of days away. >> pre-trial hearings beginning tomorrow at guantanamo bay for the five men charged in connection with the terrorist attacks on 9/11. among the suspects are the

self-professed mastermind 9/11. our chief intelligence correspondent is streaming live from guantanamo bay with a preview. catherine? >>reporter: the hearings this week will set the legal framework for the 9/11 case. we expect to hear about two dozen pre-trial motioned from how classified information will be handled and how much the public will learn of the c.i.a. secret presence and the handling of the men in the prison and things like what the 9/11 suspects will appear in court and whether they are required to appear in court. we were here in august and the pre-trial hearings were originally scheduled. they were delayed, first, there was an internet outage, a train derailment in baltimore. after that we were evacuated because of a hurricane. at that time i spoke to the chief prosecutor who said they did not expect the actual trial until some time next year. >> the judge put a mark on the

wall of next july but because of the volume of the material that is necessary to review, the prosecution is not going to object to reasonable requests for continuance. >>reporter: now what has happened to the detainee population at guantanamo bay over the last five years: in 2007 when president bush was in office there were 380 detainees. in 2009, when president obama came in office in january there were 232. right now there are 166 detainees remaining. the saturday majority, 95 or 96 are from yemen which is too unstable to return the men. one of the things you see when you travel the case there are signs this facility will be open for the long haul. what is open now is a new soccer field for the detainees at a cost of $744,000.

that price is important because anything over $749,000 has to be approved by congress. in addition, the issue of recidivism for detainees is back in the spotlight because of a libyan who, based on our reporting, he trained the militants who attacked the consulate on benghazi. he was here at guantanamo bay until 2007 when he was transferred back to the libyans. a year three, he was released by muammar qaddafi to appease the islamist. four years ago, candidate obama said he would close guantanamo bay. that was the first act as president signing the executive order. here we are, four years later, the camps are still open and we are a year away from the beginning of the 9/11 prosecution. >>gregg: long wait for the families, almost 3,000 of those families. thank you, catherine, from guantanamo bay.

>>heather: a political icon has died today, former u.s. senator arlen specter passed away early this sunday. he was a major political figure with decades long career in congress and a reputation for working across the aisle. now live to washington to look back at senator specter's contribution to his country. >>peter: senator specter served pennsylvania and the senate from 1980 to 2010, first after a democrat and then as a republican, then as a democrat again, right around the time that president obama needed all the votes he could get for his health care law. today, prominent politicians on both sides of the aisle are mourning senate majority leader harry reid saying that america is better today because of arlen specter. the counterpart, republican minority leader mcconnell said a legendary figure in the beloved pennsylvania, he brought his fierce intellect and a

prosecutor's drive to countless battles in the senate. president obama came out this afternoon and said that specter was always a fighter from the days of starching out prosecution as a prosecutor in philadelphia and three decades of service in the senate. he was fiercely independent, never putting part or ideology ahead of the people he was chosen to serve. former president george w. bush said he loved our country and served it with integrity for three decades in the united states senate. we appreciate his contributions to america and are grateful for his many years of public service. he died at 11:39 this morning from complications of lymphoma and that the service is going to be on tuesday in penn valley, pennsylvania. he served as a democrat, then a republican, and then a democrat again. he was part of 13 supreme court confirmation hearings and crossed party lines during the robert bork hearing voting

against bork which was seen as an important factor in that failed nomination, long before he became pennsylvania's longest serving senator, he was the district attorney in philadelphia and before that he worked on the warren commission that was investigating john f. kennedy's assassination. specter is one of the men who came up with the single bullet theory that a single bullet hit president john f. kennedy and the senator bolstering the argument that oswald acted alone the he is mourned by people on the left and right. >>heather: thank you, peter. >>gregg: a marine is getting national attention for the way a triathalon was finished. his project -- prosthetic leg

broke but he needed he needed help, and a private first-class stepped in. ben was running and passing others and doing really well and we watch god a second, and suddenly, his prosthetic failed and he fell flat on his face. by the time we were there he jumped up and trying to fix it and i told him, hop on. >> he picked me up, he hopped on my back and ran the rest of the race and we finished the race. >> he lost his leg to cancer five years ago but finished six triathalons. that is a winning team. ben and matthew, congratulations to both of you. >>heather: that is something else. it is something that washington and wall street now agree on, the so-called fiscal cliff is the greatest threat to the u.s. economic recovery. the dire new predictions about what could happen if congress can't reach a deal. >>gregg: a unique program

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>>heather: serious new warnings for the economy: if washington, dc, fails to deal

with the fiscal cliff, a series of looming tax hikes and spending cuts the financial experts are starting to say it will tank the economy. are lawmakers getting any closer to reaching a deal to solve the crisis? our senior anchor of "bulls and bears" is here to break it down. you make complicated issues simple. we are looking at what could happen if they do not agree. what do you think? >>guest: it is scary. we have $1 trillion in spending cuts, $450 billion in tax hikes that could happen if they don't make a deal. everyone is betting that it comes down to the 23rd or 24th or 25th hour and they will make a deal but so much depends on who becomes our commander in chief. that is what we we don't. the uncertainty is what could tank the economy right now, even before we get into any deal

making. >>heather: that is something that has not been talked about, the fact there is so much uncertainty in the market. that will hurt us between now and the time the next president takes office. >>guest: businesses are afraid to it money into research and business and hiring and the infrastructure. if they are not spending and the consumers are trying to drew down their debt and they are not spending, no spending means no recovery. that is what is happening, it is stalling. >>heather: why is this not getting much attention? >>guest: because we are so close to the election. then it will be the headline issue because it is number one for what the president will deal with. it is days away from the time we hit the tax increases and the spending cuts that are across-the-board pending cuts. >>heather: that will impact a lost jobs. >>guest: some experts, and we

are hearing more prominent c.e.o.'s speak out against the looming hikes and cuts, they are saying it could shave 5 percent of off economic growth, the stock market could lose 5 percent to 10 percent. how serious is that? >>guest: with the economic growth we are at 2 percent or 3 percent. but five percent off of that, we are officially getting into recession territory. that is very serious recession territory. the 5 percent to 10 percent off the stock market is not so scary. we have been going well on the stock market although it is a leading indicator telling us what will happen. people are thinking because the fed is pumping, printing so much money and saying we will keep interest rates so low for so long, the stock market is saying, wait, it is a party, we will keep going. if you shake 10 percent off, that is a correction, that

happens in the stock market. stocks go down and up. i am not so much scared about that but the c.b.o. degrees two million jobs will be lost. a this unemployment we cannot afford that. >> other studies say more jobs could be lost, up to two million and possibly up to six million. >>guest: it is difficult. jobs are the one thing that will drive the economy. people get jobs, they can spend money, it is where we are stalled. >>heather: people think it is a shame this can be put off until after the election. >>guest: absolutely. lawmakers are supposed to make the decisions, not saying, okay, there will be a day and it just happened that they cannot be blamed. >> it is what they do. a group of eight senators have been trying to come up with a framework. they will have to come to an agreement or make a deal. we keep re-electing them.

it is our fault if there is no deal made, we keep electing them. >>heather: thank you, brenda. >>gregg: what is the state of the presidential race headed into the crucial second debate? what are candidates needing to do on tuesday? we will put that to the campaign insiders. they are here next. issan altima and reimagined nearly everything in it? gave it greater horsepower and best in class 38 mpg highway... advanced headlights... and zero gravity seats? yeah, that would be cool. ♪ introducing the completely reimagined nissan altima. it's our most innovative altima ever. nissan. innovation that excites. ♪

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health fox news alert, first in the world of extreme sports. the international federation of sports aviation is confirming that extreme athlete has become the first skydiver to break the sound barrier. he was taken by balloon to the edge of space. imagine that, 24 miles above the earth's surface and he jumped reaching 834 miles per hour.

that amounts to mach1.24 considered faster than the speed of sound. he came down safely in the desert in new mexico landing nine minute after leaving the capsule. >> a major milestone for thousands in north carolina in time for election day, and now that story for us like in atlanta. >>reporter: good to see you, heather. five states have students that are eligible to preregister but north carolina is the only state which has a law requires high schools to hold voter registration drives. more than 100,000 students in north carolina have already registered since 2010. the state legislature mandated the county election officials hold voter registration drives on campus and keep the registration forms at each high

school. a state representative sponsored the bill and says response has been good from parents and students. >> i heard from a lot of students by facebook and twitter who say they just preregistered at age 16 1/2 and they excited. usually their parents send a thank you note for getting them involved. >>reporter: officials in north carolina say this is not benefiting any political party. they say it is political between democratic, republican, and independents would register. students say it is an exciting milestone although they are not allowed to vote. >> it was the first time where i mad control over part of my life, like it was separate from my parents. it was a going of establishing autonomy from my parents. >>reporter: many of the students will not be old enough to vote but when they turn 18,

they say for election will be too small to participate. >>reporter: and they want the autonomy from their parents. >>gregg: just two days before the second presidential debate, with four new polls showing governor romney is in the lead. the latest reuters poll shows he is leading the president by three points. another poll shows mitt romney ahead by three point and gallup show as two-point spread, romney in the lead and the investors business daily shows governor romney leading by one point. now bringing in our campaign insiders, former republican congressman, john leboutillier, and form pollster for president carter, pat caddell, and former pollster for bill clinton, doug schoen. is romney the frontrunner? >>doug: it is moving that way. he has the momentum but we need

tuesday night and a good debate performance for that to be confirmed. right now the race is too close to call. >>gregg: pat, the reuters poll came up obama leading romney 59 to 39 among early voters. >> this is an online poll. it is a small number of people but it is being hyped today by a lot news organization who have stopped during -- doing their state polls now that obama is not doing so well. clearly the obama campaign is better organized and we do not know what it means in florida and north carolina, where we know the numbers on absentee ballots and republicans have more than democrats in that situation. >>gregg: now the real clear politics poll average, governor

romney is ahead by roughly three points. boy, the trend line was in the opposite direction not long ago. >> what has happened, the first presidential debate is what caused a bigger explosion than that guy breaking the sound barrier. that is really turning the campaign upside down. the three of all all believe that everything is waiting for tuesday night. it is conceivable tuesday night that romney, if he were to have another decisive victory, he will be the next president of the united states. if obama does well on tuesday night, this is a jump ball. >>pat: it is close. romney is now in the driver's seat. he needed that debate. look, this is next to 1980 the most decisive debate because it helped romney with people who

had written him off. >>gregg: biden did not put the kids on the momentum train? >> i don't think he did. the ultimate take away is, why was biden so animated, weird with some of the facial mannerism. by comparison, the president looked weaker, more unfocused and, frankly, less in command. >>greg: some people enjoyed it. i was talking about florida a moment ago and the "miami herald" poll shows romney with a seven-point lead. but in ohio, this is interesting, the president had a substantial lead there. now look at it, in the margin of error. about only line, florida, north carolina, lesser extent, virginia, are all going for governor romney.

governor romney can win those states and the president will be re-elected if he holds ohio. ohio now is the key if the race freezes. >>gregg: and the real clear politics electoral map, this is what really counts you have to win the state and win the electoral votes. talk to us about this. >>pat: what is happening, look at yellow, ladies and gentleman. we see, now, that wisconsin, michigan, which everyone thought was in solid for obama is now undecided, so is pennsylvania. maine has moved to leaning. wisconsin is a battleground state. shear my theory. we are seeing faster movement in states that had no add veer tieing and have been left aside. that means the problem with ohio could be this $49 million spent by obama.

and how early the obama ground organization was there. it could be that certainly the velocity in michigan and pennsylvania is faster and even in minnesota, as well, than in ohio. that could mean he could make a different combination. >>gregg: just do point out, obama drops down to 201 from 257 and romney is up to 191. congressman, you are a real political pro, what is now being referred to by even the "washington post" as benghazi gate and the white house and the president's response to it, which has been criticized, here is what murdoch in the "new york post" said the government that leaked secrets to make the president look tough, oozes

falsehoods to keep him from looking weak. in short: people died, obama lied. >> that is the first question between obama and ryan, it will come up quickly on tuesday night. the president, having watched biden flounder around, he better come up with a betterrance or he will tart the debate losing again. >> he had the moment to knock it out by he didn't. >> the democrats are trying to run out the dock. not truth. not false another. run out clock. >>gregg: clearly the president will be far more aggressive than in the first debate. how does romney handle that? >> in several ways. first, there is a theme that romney needs to have. you have people calling me a liar, but, mr. president, you were elected for hope and change, you were elected to change the tone. you promised people, and, now, you attack everyone, you attack

me. i want to know more about this. >>gregg: we be right back. >>heather: a huge loss for the new york yankees, this could end up derailing their hopes for another trip to the world series. we will tell you what happened to the captain up next. victor! victor!

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>>heather: now, pennsylvania's longest serving u.s. senator, arlen specter, has decided. he passed away at his home in philadelphia from complications of lymphoma at age 82. crews in italy are trying to salvage a shipwreck. in a preliminary hearing tomorrow experts will release data obtained from the ship's black box recorder that ran aground in chicago killing --

aground killing 30. and jeter fractured his left ankle during game one last night and forced to call it quits. >>gregg: the presidential race is locked in a dead heat. what does each candidate need do? is there any left over from the v.p. debate? we have john boon boon, and -- we have john leboutillier and pa caddell and doug schoen. there were 82 interruptions by vice president biden and laughing and smirking. how does this come across? >> frankly as little but there was a method to the madness. that is, biden was trying to rally the democratic faithful, showing that the democratic party and the obama administration could fight back. i thought on substance he made

good points but the 82 interruptions, plus the facial mannerisms and the ticks, to me, that made the performance far less effective. >>pat: he won points partly because ryan was being safe but he lost on style. ryan could have, i cannot get over ryan not knowing the moment and turning and saying, what are you laughing about? you are being disrespectful for the voters. they deserve better than this. >>gregg: he did say you are not helping by interrupting. >>pat: i would have gone right at him. >>gregg: who has the advantage in the townhall-style debate on tuesday? >> they both have different strategies. they will go about it differently. the president has a tough road to hoe. he has to not go as far as biden but he has to rally his supporters. some of those that left in the

last ten days, get them back. be aggressive. respective. ask the questions asked. >>gregg: there is no question he can read a teleprompter well but he will not have that. if you just judge him when he speaks without a teleprompter, especially at a news conference where he answers questions, it is not pretty. >> he has a huge issue, that they do not have an answer for, we saw david axelrod with biden in the debate, and that is libya. they do not have an answer to benghazi. i don't think they can get through days saying the state department and the intelligence community let them down. i don't think saying "we don't know" works. >>pat: if that is what the president says, romney can say, mr. president, why weren't you in the oval office doing your job and getting to the bottom it rather than going to fundraisers in las vegas while the consulate

was burning. >>gregg: he had no international meeting and he spent 62 percent of the daily briefings committee now he has every day. >> does the pro obama immediate your that surrounds him feed into this? >> they are sitting there, if he gets the minimal bar of acceptability, they will proclaim him the come back kid, he has done great, the first debate was an accident, he did great and the come back kid is here and they will make this race come back. what pat talked about before about the early voting, they want to create a false upward momentum for obama. >> is it a mistake to bring up big bird as he does on the campaign stump trip. >> the president will confront romney, joke about romney, do

everything he can to achieve what john said, which is the notion that the race is stable. there is one bottom line concern , if he appears weak and unfocused, the entire race could go. >>gregg: the president will rip into the 47 percent remark which is regrettable according to romney. >>pat: he has to say it is regrettable and then move on. i would turn right away and say, mr. president, you are being the devicive -- divisive. i would challenge the president, you want to say to my face what you have been saying in the spots. >>gregg: romney threw back in the face of the president the $5 trillion claim, you will cost the deficit $5 trillion with the tax plan. will the president try that again? >>pat: yes, yes, they will stick with it. necessity have to -- necessity

requires that. >> want to talk math, mr. president? look what you said about cutting the deficit in half. >>gregg: thank you, gentleman, our campaign insiders every monday at 10 a.m., thank you, gentleman. >>heather: and october is anti-bullying month. and kids are spreading their message of hope. ♪ kids do things that are not very smart ♪ >> we will meet a special group of young performers when we come back. i honestly loved smoking, and i honestly didn't think i would ever quit. [ male announcer ] along with support,

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♪ hey, kid ♪ i say hi >>gregg: children too afraid to go to school because of bullying. it is more common than you may think affecting 150,000 kids each and every day. >> as part of october's

anti-bullying month a community theater is showing children how to take a stand by backing one another. here is the artistic behavior of random farms theater and joining us are the performers and a young lady you will recognize, gregg's girl. we can see the resemblance. thanks for coming in guys. what great work you are doing. how did you start? you decided you wanted to do this show. >> well, actually, i remember when i was in eighth on the bus ride home from school i got bullied by a grouch boys and it was scary and awful and i remember my parents went to the principal of the school and they said, the principal said to my parents, boys will be boys and that was it. it wasn't an issue recognize the now as an adult i see it is

serious. schools are taking a stand. i wanted to start a program to take kids bringing them to the school to educate students about the importance of being true to yourself. >>gregg: what exactly are they doing at the schools they go to all over the area? >>guest: what they are doing is a 55-minute musical starring all kids in all of the parts and the musical is about a new boy at a middle school, a fictional school, and he is the new skid in the school which a lot of students can relate to and he experiences bullying, and peer pressure, and hazing. >>gregg: here is a full clip, for a feel for this. >> what do we have? >> i have something to show you. ♪ you want to survive ♪ you have to be strong

♪ you put people down >> this is your second year, what role do you play? >> a very neat girl who likes to be herself, he is very comfort about who she is and she doesn't let people bully her. >> why is it important to the kids? >> it is important because you get to inform people about bullying and why it is not a good idea and how you can put a stop to that. >> and now, my daughter, how did you learn about new kid and why did you decide to do it? >> the show came to my school a couple years ago and after seeing the performance i was impressed by it and i see bullying happen very often at school and online so i thought this would be a great way to get involveed. >>heather: boys do it to boys, boys do it to girls and boys and girls do it to one another and

now we have something altogether different, and that is cell phones and facebook and twitter and all of that. >> cyberbullying, have are so many different kinds of gulf living -- bullying, physical bullying, verbal bullying, pressures and hazing, and the show is sort of like jumping off place for the conversations to start. after the show there is a question-and-answer with the students. every school is different. >>heather: what you talk about is the bystanders that do not do anything are as guilty as those that are doing the bullying. >>guest: absolutely. this teaches you what to do if you see someone being bullied, whether a friend or a stranger, it is okay to stand up for them or yourself. >>gregg: has being a new kid changed your idea and perceptions about bullying?

>> yes, it has, because bullying is not only a physical thing, but it is also a verbal way of communication and i was never, really, knowledgeable about that until the new kid. >> bullying is a really big through and if you are being bullied, stand up or temperature a trusted adult about the issue so it can get resolved before it gets worse. >>gregg: it is so great that you have study guides for teachers, association literally, after the program, they use this material to talk to their students. >>guest: we do not want the conversation to end after the show so we do question-and-answer period after, and we hope the teachers the continue to address the issues in class and beyond. >> it is happening at school and it is happening at home. it is everyone's responsibility

not just the parents but the teachers and schools. >>gregg: does it affect how people perceive bullying? >> yes, people are really changed. >>gregg: a great program, best of you, all, nice job, everyone. thank you for dropping by to tell us about the great program. that does it for us, fox news sunday with chris wallace is next. r? this isn't just a headache. trust me, this is new bayer migraine. [ male announcer ] it's the power of aspirin plus more in a triple action formula to relieve your tough migraines. new bayer migraine formula.

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